The World Is Mine For The Taking

I slept that night after my meeting with Estelle, although the conversation we had kept running through my head for quite some time before I finally managed to fall asleep.

Lilith didn't appear to me that night, either.

***

Carl's POV

The war was happening right now, and things were getting dangerously close to the point where the entire situation could finally reach its breaking point.

I was standing inside one of the Imperial rooms, staring at a painting that I had commissioned from a well-known painter in the Empire some time ago.

I looked at it without showing much emotion on my face, almost as though I were staring at some random decoration that had been placed there without my permission.

The painting itself depicted something so modern that anyone who saw it would probably have a hard time believing that it had actually been created in this world.

Honestly, if someone from Earth suddenly walked into this room and saw it hanging on the wall, they would probably stare at it for several seconds before asking themselves, What the fuck is a painting like this doing here?

"Well, that's only natural, I suppose," I muttered while continuing to stare at it. "If they suddenly saw a painting of the Mona Lisa hanging around here, they'd probably freak out."

The people of this world obviously had no idea what the Mona Lisa was.

To them, it was simply another painting.

They wouldn't know the history behind it, the artist who created the original, or the significance it had back on Earth.

Still, there was always the possibility that someone else from Earth had been reincarnated into this world.

If that happened, then seeing this painting would immediately raise some serious questions.

They would recognize the composition.

They would understand the resemblance.

More importantly, they would realize that whoever created this painting, or at least whoever had commissioned it, had knowledge of a world that should have been completely unrelated to this one.

That alone could reveal far more about me than I would have liked.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised by how accurate the painter managed to make it," I said aloud while examining the painting again. "It really does look somewhat similar to the original, although the face is obviously different, and the colors aren't quite the same either."

I tilted my head slightly while looking over the details.

"Still, the composition is similar enough to the Mona Lisa that someone from Earth would probably recognize what I was trying to imitate."

The face wasn't particularly accurate.

Actually, calling it the Mona Lisa was probably stretching things quite a bit.

Still, it served its purpose.

Someone familiar with the original would probably look at it and immediately think of the same painting.

"Your Imperial Highness."

While I was still staring at the painting, Leona suddenly approached me from behind.

"The Republic is making its move again," she said. "Should we deploy the lizards?"

"Do it," I answered without taking my eyes away from the painting.

"The Republic will pay for interfering with what I'm doing. The Milham Kingdom and its allies will suffer as well, so we need to attack them simultaneously and make sure none of them have the opportunity to support one another."

"I understand, Your Imperial Highness," Leona replied.

She hesitated briefly before continuing with a question that seemed to have been bothering her.

"However, may I ask you something?"

I finally glanced toward her.

"How many times have you stared at that painting now?"

She pointed toward it with a slight movement of her hand.

"I've noticed you looking at it quite often, and sometimes you seem to spend several minutes simply standing there and staring at it. Does it have some kind of sentimental value to you?"

I suppose it made sense that she would ask.

To someone born in this world, the painting probably didn't mean much.

To me, however, it represented something completely different.

It reminded me of Earth.

It reminded me of the life I had before coming here.

More importantly, it reminded me of everything I had left behind.

That woman standing in front of me didn't know any of that, though.

She couldn't possibly understand why I had commissioned something like this.

"It doesn't," I finally answered.

I looked back toward the painting.

"It's nothing more than a piece of crap, that's all."

Leona blinked.

"I see..."

"If you're finished questioning me, then leave me alone."

"Yes, Your Imperial Highness."

She gave a small bow before turning around and walking away.

I watched her leave for a moment.

My eyes followed her until she was several steps away, and then I looked back toward the painting again.

I had to admit that Leona was a difficult woman.

She followed orders when necessary, but there was always a certain stubbornness behind her expression.

That was probably part of what made her interesting.

I couldn't help thinking about how different she was from the people I had dealt with back on Earth.

Back then, I had managed a small office that worked in game development.

It wasn't some giant company where I was surrounded by hundreds of employees or anything like that.

It was relatively small, and most of my days were spent dealing with development work, office problems, schedules, and the usual nonsense that came with managing people.

Among those people was one woman who immediately caught my attention.

She was a beautiful woman, and I had become interested in her almost immediately.

I became obsessed with her in a way that wasn't exactly healthy.

I wanted to control her life.

I wanted to make things difficult for her.

I thought I could force everything to go the way I wanted, but things eventually backfired in a way I hadn't expected.

She died because of what happened. She killed herself.

I didn't regret what I had done.

At least, that's what I told myself.

Looking back on it now, however, there wasn't much point in dwelling on it anymore.

The past was the past.

Whatever had happened back then couldn't be changed.

Besides, I had another life now.